Microplastics have already been found at the bottom of the ocean, inside the human body and even in the air. Now, researchers at the University of Prešov in Slovakia have found these tiny particles inside plants.

The initial objective of the study, published in the journal BioRisk on August 30, was to study the small pools of water that form in the axillary, lateral structures of the stems.

The research was done on thistles, plants of the genus Dipsacus that are relatives of artichokes. Elass have as characteristic leaves that grow on the stem in opposite directions, one on top of each other, and that have a short life, from three to four months.

The researchers analyzed the axillary with a microscope. The material evaluated gathered, in total, 4.5 liters of water and sediments from 50 different thistles. And what caught the authors' attention was the presence of unusual colored fibers.

They were microplastics. The polymer pieces were between 141 microns and 2.4 millimeters long. They were found at the concentration of 101 to 409 fragments per millimeter of the plant.

"The first discovery of microplastics in small short-term water reservoirs created by plants is further evidence that this contamination spreads several paths and probably no environment on Earth is safe, which obviously makes our discovery quite discouraging," the researchers said in a statement.

Now, the team intends to understand how the microplastics ended up in the leaves and water of the stem. This is because no other source of contaminants was found in the studied area in eastern Slovakia.

For the researchers, there are two possible theories: the first is that the fragments and fibers probably came from the polluted atmosphere and the second would be that snails may have transported them from the soil or other plants.

The discovery of pollutants is indicative that thistles specifically have the ability to capture microplastics in various ways of the environment.

Source: Um só Planeta